U.S. Census adapting to changes from coronavirus

YUMA, Ariz. (KYMA, KECY) - With a majority of the country under 'Stay-at-Home' orders, the U.S. Census is pushing for residents to complete the necessary forms to be counted.

The Census comes around every decade and is crucial to a government function. It determines how billions of federal funding is spent locally, for example, schools and roads to name a few. It also determines how many representatives in Congress each state gets.

Households across the country should have received letters by now with a special code that allows them to complete the Census online, via phone, or mailed in.

Wednesday, April 1, marked Census Day, which is when local officials began a great push for local residents to fill out their forms.

With many people being safe at home due to the coronavirus, local officials want people to really get their count in.

Those who don't respond to the Census by summer should expect Census officials knocking on their door to get a count. By not responding to the Census, residents risk being fined.

One common fear for residents is having their citizenship exposed by responding to the Census. However, Census officials are stressing that a citizenship question is not in the questionnaire, as their only goal is to count everyone living in the country.

In 2010 Yuma's response rate was at 59.5%. Currently, the response rate is at 29.5% and Census officials hope they can get that number higher than the last decade.

You can visit the Census 2020 website for more information.